Sun Kil Moon - This Is My Dinner

Prolific singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek presents yet another Sun Kil Moon album, focusing less on actual singing and more on storytelling and observation. This isn't surprising, though, if you've followed anything he's had his hands on in the last few years or so. But what makes this one stand out from his previous work is that it comes close to almost full-on spoken word territory.

'Chapter 87 of He' is an excerpt of a John Connolly book, and it's literally Kozelek reading over laid back drums and guitar until it eventually bursts into a freewheeling jam session and then settles back into the easy groove it began with.

Title track 'This is My Dinner' has a lounge feel to it, which is the perfect atmosphere for Kozelek's candid, nostalgic recollections of past tours in Norway including a twenty-something tryst with a blonde girl.

The ambling, jazzy opener 'This Is Not Possible' is the real gem here, though. It's the sound of an artist and his band totally relaxed and in the moment. During breaks in the song between Kozelek's description of travelling as a band while encountering possible/impossible scenarios, you hear the musicians echo with either "This is not possible" or "Yes, this is possible." It's not only unique stylistically in the Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon catalog, but it stands out as a song reflecting a band creating and living poetry simultaneously. On the surface, it's just lyrical setups with basic questions and answers, yet it grows into something more solid, being rooted in the mundane facts Kozelek presents in his trademark manner.

One might say Kozelek's been getting lazier with each album since 2014's masterpiece Benji. However, against the backdrop of these often well-played songs, his ramblings and personal take on subjects ranging from the pros/cons of touring to the loving tribute to David Cassidy are mostly compelling instead of simply filler, even if the album isn't as concentrated of an effort than his previous output has been.